Curse of the Werewolf
by blackwolf412
Summary: Four kids break into your house. What do you do? Me, I befriend them. I befriend them because I was once like them. You know, drifting around, always on the road. I befriend them. . .because I am still like them. A Anima.
1. Chapter 1

disclaimer: don't own +anima.

* * *

Eya POV

So, so, so tired. But I couldn't stop. Not yet. I wasn't home.

Running. I usually tried to avoid it, because my +Anima, the wolf, always tried to come out, but it was always necessary on the way home from the old part of the forest. My ears gave me forewarning to any travelers and my feet moved much faster along the forest floor when in wolf form. The tail was just decoration.

Besides, nobody was around to see me anyway. Or at least, I'd _thought _nobody was around, because suddenly a shout from above made me stumble in my running.

"Hey!"

I immediately looked up to see a kid with black wings soaring high up. +Anima? Probably. Black wings, meaning a crow or a raven or something. And he'd seen me--he was circling, trying to come down.

I hitched my pack further up on my back and kept running, going faster now. You don't see many +Anima around, even if you are one, and these days people tried to avoid them even more than they used to.

"Hey, wait up!" the winged boy shouted. I glanced up again and saw him squinting through the trees, trying to keep an eye on me. "Stop!"

I put on another spurt of speed before taking a sharp left and coming to a complete stop, ducking under a big tree. Hopefully the boy wouldn't see me through its dense leaves.

It worked. Crow Boy shot right over, not seeing me, still shouting for me to stop. His voice soon faded, even to my heightened sense of hearing.

I closed my eyes, breathing a sigh of relief as I leaned back against the trunk of the tree.

_Too close, _I thought. _He almost caught me._

Even though I knew nobody in town was a +Anima, I couldn't take chances. If anybody found out, I'd never be allowed back in town.

I mean, my current status was peaceful--nobody from Atley came up to the "abandoned" mansion on the hill, so I was relatively un-bothered. I came down three days a week to help out the town carpenter, Mr. Reese; on the days I wasn't in town, I was in the forest, cutting up wood to bring to the workshop next time I got there. Today had been a forest day--the bag on my back was full of freshly-cut wood, samples for what Reese would use to make his next big project.

But if that kid, the crow boy. . .if he told anybody about me, Reese would kick me out. Nobody would give me a job and I'd have to move. I hoped Crow Boy was just a traveler and would be gone before I ran into him again. I liked Atley--I didn't want to leave.

I took a deep breath and started to run again, heading for the mansion on the top of the hill. Heading for home.

* * *

so yeah--this idea's been running around in my head for a while now, so i finally decided to see if anyone wanted to read it. tell me if you liked it, didn't like it, or if it's just plain horrible. i'll put up another chapter if i get any reviews saying they want the story to go on.

so please review this one. thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

okay. my first three reviewers told me to keep going with this (thanks, Aquamarine-Sea, organization MA, and OceanMist9!), so that's what i'm gonna do. i don't know exactly what the point to this story is yet, but whatever. we'll just keep goin' and see what happens. i have vague ideas, but nothing's set in stone. drop a line if you want to see somethin' happen.

disclaimer: don't own +anima

* * *

Husky POV

Here we are again. Traveling.

Summer was coming, so, after leaving Astar, we headed north, ending up in the foresty foothills of some small mountains. It was getting dark, so I'd told Cooro to fly around and see if he could spot any towns nearby. Nana, Senri and I waited in the clearing--Senri was quiet, as usual, Nana was babbling about one thing or another, and I was trying to ignore Nana.

It had just started to rain when Cooro landed back in the clearing.

"Well?" I demanded as he put away his wings. "Is there a town nearby?"

Cooro nodded, oblivious to the rain. "Uh-huh. It's a few miles that way," he said, pointing northwest. "But there's a big house on a hill that way." He pointed north-northeast. "It's a lot closer, and I don't think anybody lives there."

"Let's go see," Nana said, shivering. "Anything to get out of this rain!"

We started heading the way Cooro had pointed, Cooro himself quiet and thoughtful, for once.

"Cooro? What's wrong?" Nana asked. Cooro shook his head.

"Nothing. I saw a +Anima running in the woods before I saw the house."

"What?" I said sharply. "You saw a +Anima?"

Cooro nodded. "Uh-huh. It was a wolf, I think. She had ears and legs and a tail."

"Why didn't you talk to her?" Nana said. "We should have another girl with us!"

"She wouldn't stop," Cooro said. He shrugged. "I tried to catch up with her but I lost her before I could land."

_Good thing, _I thought. _One girl's enough._

As Nana kept nagging Cooro about the girl he'd seen--what did she look like, how old was she, why didn't she stop--we finally came to the mansion on the hill, at what looked like the back door. I had a sudden feeling that I was being watched and glanced up at the windows to the house. A flicker of movement? No. . .just the rain battering the windows. . .

"Husky? Are you okay?" Nana asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know, guys. Maybe we should just camp out tonight. Find that town tomorrow."

"Aw, come on, Husky!" Nana pleaded. "It's so cold and wet out here!"

"And it looks abandoned. . ." Cooro said, trying the doorknob. To everyone's surprise, the door opened at his touch. Cooro took a few steps inside.

"Cooro!" I hissed. "Get back here!"

"I don't think anybody lives here," Nana said. "Come on, Husky, just one night!"

"Ugh. . .fine." I followed Nana and Senri into the dark manor house.

Eya POV

A sudden creak over the light patter of the rain made me pause in my sketching. I listened intently and heard voices.

_"I don't think anybody lives here,"_ a girl was saying. _"Come on, Husky, just one night!"_

_"Ugh. . .fine,"_ a boy agreed grudgingly. Husky, I was guessing.

I looked over my shoulder at my closed study door. I wanted to check it out, but they didn't sound threatening, whoever they were. They sounded like kids, probably no older than me. I heard their footsteps echoing in the main hall, their voices oohing and aahing at the size of the place. The rain had probably drove them in, so I shrugged and looked back at my paper, where I was sketching the likeness of Crow Boy. For some reason, he wouldn't leave me alone. I couldn't understand why. Maybe the fact that he was a +Anima, like me? Or that he'd given off a weird aura that felt like other +Anima?

My back went rigid and my wolf ears pricked up at the tiny _pop_. Then came the ringing. That intensely high ringing that I could only hear with my wolf senses. I dropped my pen and desperately tried to block it out. I hunched over, almost whimpering in pain. I'm surprised I didn't pass out.

Then it stopped, and the girl from downstairs was speaking.

_"There's hardly any furniture in here. There are some stairs over there, but I didn't see any people."_

Then a boy was talking, a boy other than Husky. _"See, Husky? If nobody lives here anyway, what's wrong with staying one night? Hey--maybe _we _could live here! We could find work in town, and this place is so big. . ."_

There was a _thunk_, followed by Husky's sharp voice. _"Cooro! Stop being stupid, we can't live here!"_

_"Awww, why not?" _Cooro whined. He sounded familiar for some reason, but I just couldn't remember why. The weird ringing had me all disoriented. _"Nobody's gonna find out!"_

_"What'll happen when the people in the town figure out we're here?" _Husky demanded. _"They'll want to know where we came from! And maybe whoever lives here just isn't home right now!"_

Cooro sighed. _"Maybe you're right. . ."_

_"Husky's right. Besides," _the girl said, _"I don't think I'd want to always live here. It's so creepy!"_

_Well, the house thinks you're creepy too_, I thought. _Get over it._

_"Creepy? Look who's talking, bat girl!"_

_What?_

_"Oooohh, Husky!" _the girl fumed. _"Just because I'm a bat +Anima doesn't mean I have to act like a bat!"_

Bat. . .+Anima. Well, that explained the ringing that had pained me so much--it had been an ultrasonic screech.

I blew out the lamp on the desk and got up, finding the door to the hall easily. I can't see all that well in the dark, but my wolf senses were better than a human's. So I quietly made my way down the corridor and toward the main hall, where the +Anima were waiting.

Husky POV

We'd found a fireplace and Senri had lit a fire. We were all gathered around it, starting to fall asleep, when Nana suddenly sat up.

"Nana?" Cooro said.

"Somebody's here. . ." she said quietly, listening with her bat-ears. We all became silent and listened. My hand tightened around my staff and I saw Senri tense. Even Cooro looked nervous.

"What are you doing here?" a girl's voice suddenly asked, breaking the silence and making us all jump.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" I said loudly, holding on tight to my staff.

"Why do _I _have to do anything?" the voice asked. "It's my house. In which you four are intruding."

"Please. . ." Cooro began. "We just wanted a place to stay for the night. . ."

"That's it?" the girl said, finally stepping into the circle of firelight.

My first thought was, _She's just a kid!!_

She could be barely older than me. She had messy brown hair in a ponytail that hung down past her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes were cold, calculating as they sized up Cooro. She looked just about as tall as he was, maybe shorter than me. She was wearing black leggings under dark blue shorts that came just below her knees and a long-sleeved black shirt. She was wearing a brown leather belt that had a small pouch at one hip, a sheathed knife at the other. Her dark brown boots, which came up over her ankles, had made no noise on the stone floors.

"Hey!" Cooro exclaimed, pointing at the girl. "You're that girl!"

She blinked, taking a step back. "You're. . .that kid. The crow kid! You're a +Anima!"

"And so are you!" Cooro said, jumping up. Smiling, he approached the girl and held out his hand. "I'm Cooro! What's your name?"

"Eya," she said slowly, shaking Cooro's hand. She stared for a second, then shook her head. "Did you, uh, get caught in the rain?"

Cooro laughed nervously, his hand behind his head.

"Yeah. We saw this place and it didn't look like anybody lived here, so we thought we could stay."

"We're sorry if we woke you up," Nana added, also standing up. Senri and I copied them. "I'm Nana. We only wanted to stay the night."

"I was up anyway," Eya said, waving it away. "I just heard. . .uh, noises." She hesitated for a second, then said, "There are candles in that chest. Maybe a lamp, I'm not sure," she added, gesturing to a chest next to the fireplace. Then she turned her back and waved over her shoulder. "There are rooms all over if you want beds."

"Oh! Thank you!" Nana exclaimed.

"Wait!" Cooro called as Eya was about to step out of the light. She paused. "We're all +Anima, and we've been traveling together looking for others. You're a wolf, right?"

Eya nodded.

"Why did you run from me before?"

Eya looked away. "People 'round here can't stand +Anima. I didn't want anybody to know I was one."

"Oh. . ."

"Well. . .thanks for letting us stay," Nana said timidly.

Eya nodded. "Most of the bedrooms are on the second floor. You can have any of them except the two at the end of the hall. You can stay as long as you want." She turned and retreated back into the darkness. "Good night," she called back.

"Good. . .night," Cooro said half-heartedly. He turned back to us and said, "That was weird, huh?"

"She seemed nice," Nana said. She went over to the chest Eya had pointed out and opened it, pulling out candles. "And she said we could stay as long as we wanted."

"I don't know," I found myself muttering doubtfully as I took a candle.

"Huh?" Cooro asked. "What do you mean, Husky?"

"Well, she's just a kid," I said. "What's a girl like her doing all by herself up in a big creepy mansion like this? And where are her parents?"

"Maybe she doesn't have any," Cooro said reasonably.

"Or maybe she just found the house like this," Nana added. "Maybe it really _was _abandoned until she came and started living here."

"I guess. . ."

"But it doesn't matter," Nana said, lighting her candle. She turned and lit Cooro's from hers. "It's getting late. Let's go find rooms!"

I followed the others as they led the way up the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

it seems like it's been a long time since i updated this. sorry for the wait.

disclaimer: don't own +anima

* * *

Husky POV

When I woke up the next morning, it took a second to remember where I was. Then Cooro came bounding in, followed by Nana and Senri.

"Morning, Husky!" Cooro said, smiling his usual goofy smile. I sat up and he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Eya says she's going into town," Nana said. "We were all going to go with her."

"Do you wanna come, Husky?" Cooro asked. I nodded.

"We should try and find some way to make money," I said. "Once we get to town we'll split up."

As the others agreed I briefly wondered how Eya made her money.

I didn't have to wonder long.

The four of us followed Eya down the path and towards the road a little after we'd eaten. She'd put on a short-sleeved, hooded white shirt over her black one, but other than that, she looked the same as last night. She answered all of Cooro's questions about why she lived in the mansion, why she was alone, how she'd found it, if she had any friends, if she had a job in town. . .

It turned out that she used to live in the east, but had run away from home after her parents died. She'd been a drifter, kinda like us, before she'd stumbled onto this town and found the mansion. The man who'd lived in it had just died, so she kind of took it over without the townspeople knowing. She didn't have many friends--more like acquaintances, she said--and helped the carpenter in his workshop every other day.

We made it into town before the sun was really high in the sky. We paused in the town square by a big fountain and I asked Eya if anybody would let us work for some money.

She thought for a second. "You could probably just come with me to my job," she said. "Mr. Reese usually hires temporary workers if they need it." She nodded. "Yeah, just follow me."

She turned and started heading down a street. About halfway down, she turned suddenly into one of the smaller buildings, calling, "Hi, Mr. Reese!"

The man at the counter--Mr. Reese---looked middle-aged with his graying hair and few wrinkles. But his bright green eyes were young as ever, sparking with curiosity as Cooro, Senri, Nana and I filed in behind Eya.

"Who're these kids?" Reese asked. He had one of those rough voices that always sounded a little angry and frustrated.

"Um, travelers," Eya said, dropping her pack to the floor. She rolled her shoulders and I glanced down at the wood-filled bag, suddenly wondering how heavy it was. "They're passing through and they need money. I was wondering if they could do anything here to help. This is Husky, Cooro, Nana, and Senri." She pointed to each of us as she said our names, and Reese's bright eyes darted back and forth.

He scratched at his stubbly chin. Looking at Senri, he said, "Tall one can cut wood. Other two can help you in finishin', an' I'll send the girl back with Missy t' see if Danica needs help 'round the house."

"Thanks, Mr. Reese."

Eya POV

Senri followed Reese out back, where they'd be chopping wood all day. Missy, Reese's nine-year-old daughter, took Nana back to her house, and I led Cooro and Husky into the back, where I'd been working on the finishing of a huge table meant to stand in the town hall.

A big bucket of wood polish was sitting on top of the table, a clean rag beside it.

"So I guess we'll just polish it today," I said. "I'll, um, get some more rags."

"With all three of us, we'll get done pretty fast, right?" Cooro asked. I shrugged as I walked toward a back cabinet, where more rags were kept.

"Depends on Reese's definition of done." I tossed rags at Cooro and Husky, dipped mine in the bucket of polish, and started to work.

Okay, I'm just gonna say it: sometimes, working for Reese is just plain boring. I mean, when I was by myself, it was like, _kill me now! _And now, with Cooro and Husky there too, it was like, _awkward silence!_

Well, it was boring until we heard the sudden outburst of screaming from outside.

We all kinda looked at each other, then dropped the rags and ran, nearly crashing into Reese and Senri on the way out.

The inn had caught fire. The bucket brigade was already up and running, but the innkeeper was freaking out, screaming that there were more people inside, trapped.

"You kids stay here!" Reese shouted, running to join the bucket brigade.

"Like hell!" I yelled, but he didn't hear me. I started running too.

I'd been trapped in a burning building before, but I'd escaped. I'd been able to squeeze through narrow places, leap over a caved-in floor, and run to safety before a burning beam could crash down on me. If I could just get in there, I'd be able to help those other people get out.

Suddenly a shadow fell over me and I looked up. Cooro was flying, heading for the inn.

"Cooro!" I shouted. "You can't fly here!"

"But I wanna help!" he called back. I shook my head in frustration and watched as he landed on the roof of the inn, jumping inside one of the holes and just barely escaping setting his wings on fire.

I put on a burst of speed, not noticing how my strides were longer, smoother, faster. I dodged the men that tried to block my way to the burning building and crashed through the door.

The walls were aflame, as were the stairs leading up to the next floor. The ceiling was burning and chunks of it had already fallen through.

"We'll never get up those stairs!" Husky yelled as part of the stairway caved. I turned and saw he and Senri had followed me in.

I started to head for the stairs, ignoring him. _As long as I jump that hole before it gets any bigger, I'll get up._

"Eya, you can't jump that!" Husky shouted, seeing me back up for a running start. "You won't make it!"

Why was he so concerned for my safety? It's not like he cared, right?

I jumped the hole, barely making it. I lost balance and almost fell but righted myself. I took a breath to slow my pounding heart and dashed up to the next floor.

Husky POV

I almost panicked when I saw her teeter backwards. I took a breath to slow my pounding heart as she ran up to the next floor.

As soon as her wolf tail was out of sight, Senri followed her. He did the same running start and landed a few stairs up of the broken stairway. He ran up to the next floor.

Leaving me down here, stuck in a burning common room and not knowing what to do.

I mean, I could _try _to jump, like Eya and Senri, but I probably wouldn't make it. If I went back out, people would yell at me for going in.

"Husky, what are you _doing_?" Eya's voice was suddenly above me. I jumped and looked up to one of the holes in the ceiling--she was watching me stand here like an idiot. Her gray wolf ears twitched and she suddenly smirked. "You're not scared to jump the stairs, are you?"

"No! I was just. . ."

"Whatever," she said. "But there's like six people up here, it's kinda hard with just me, Cooro, and Senri."

My fist tightened on my staff. She was taunting me. Daring me to go up.

I ran for the stairs.

Eya POV

I watched to make sure he made the jump before turning back to where Cooro and Senri were trying to break down the door of the room where the family was trapped. Every time they banged on the door, embers fell from the burning ceiling. A few more hits and the whole roof might come down.

"Come on, Miss Stacy, talk to me!" I shouted, adding my strength to the door. "Is something blocking the door?"

"Yes!" came the muffled reply. "One of the beams fell, it's blocking the way out!"

_Dammit. _"Uh, we have to go through the wall then," I said, wiping sweat from my forehead. I coughed as smoke caught in my throat.

"Senri can do that!" Cooro said. Then yelped and jumped back as part of the roof fell in front of him. We had to get out of here soon or we'd all be trapped.

Senri nodded and his arm transformed into a bear claw. He slashed through the part of the wall next to the door and we were finally in the room. I took the first step inside but was immediately yanked back to a shout of "Watch it!"

Another part of ceiling fell right where I'd been standing. I looked back and saw it was Husky who'd pulled me back. I smirked.

"Finally caught up, huh?"

He glared at me and let go of my shirt. I jumped over the flaming chunk of ceiling and into the smoke-filled room. Coughing, I yelled, "Where is everybody? We've got a way out!"

There were mixed cries of relief and a rushing of footsteps. Figures came forward out of the smoke and I counted as all six people made it out.

"Cooro, take that little kid and get him out fast!" I said as a four-year-old boy stumbled out into the hall. "If he gets anymore smoke he'll pass out!"

"Okay!" Cooro nodded and picked up the kid. Then he spread his wings and jumped out one of the holes in the ceiling.

"Everybody else follow Senri!" I yelled. Senri started down the hall and the people followed him. One woman held back, looking at me.

"Are you Eya?" she asked. I recognized her voice--Miss Stacy.

"Yeah, that's me," I said, pushing her along. "Come on, you gotta get out of here."

"You're a +Anima!" she said, pointing at my legs. I looked down and saw I was indeed transformed.

"Uh, yeah," I said. I grabbed her arm and started leading her down the hallway, 'cuz she was slowing down. "But that's not important, you have to. . ."

Husky POV

I watched the woman rip her arm out of Eya's hold. "Don't touch me!" she spat.

"Hey! She just saved your life!" I snapped. "Who cares if she's a +Anima?"

"Husky, don't. . ."

"If we weren't +Anima, we'd all be dead! And you would be too, 'cuz we wouldn't've been here to save you!"

"+Anima aren't human. They're monsters," the woman said coldly. Then she turned and ran down the hall, where Senri was helping the rest get down the stairs.

"Husky, let's just go," Eya said quietly. "I don't care about what she said. You shouldn't either."

"But we were forced to become +Anima! It's not like we had a choice!"

"Well, I don't regret it," she said firmly. She took my hand and started pulling me back toward the stairs. "Do you?"


	4. Chapter 4

sorry about the wait, people. i had writer's block that was only functioned for things non-fanfiction-related.

plus, june's a crazy month for my family. parents' anniversary, father's day, sister's birthday, dad's birthday. . .all within two weeks of each other.

and this year, i helped my sister move out. on her birthday. which was the same day michael jackson died. so they're both gone, and i'm sad.

but enough about my personal goings-on. you can read now.

and happy fourth of july.

disclaimer: don't own +anima.

* * *

Eya POV

We all made it out of the burning inn alive.

But the looks on the faces of the townspeople made me wish I was still inside.

The bucket brigade had stopped moving; the fire was almost out anyway, so it wasn't dangerous. But it wasn't just them--everybody was still, just staring at us. Some looked surprised, others were angry, but most just had a kind-of frightened confusion on their faces. The little kid Cooro had saved squirmed free and ran to one of the women in the crowd.

"Cooro," I said slowly, feeling my tail and ears retreating from sight. "Put away your wings. Now. Senri, get rid of the claw. You should all get out of here."

"We're not leaving you by yourself," Husky said hotly.

"Why would we do that?" Cooro asked, sounding puzzled. "We're your friends."

I scoffed. "We've known each other, what, a day? That makes us friends?"

Cooro shrugged. "But you're a +Anima, like us. We're not just going to abandon you."

"Guys, guys!" Nana came running out of the crowd, apparently having run all the way from Reese's house on the outskirts of town. "I heard about the fire, are you all oka--" She stopped when she saw the looks on our faces, when she realized the inn was still burning behind us without anybody doing anything to stop it.

"What's going on?" she asked breathlessly.

"They found out we were +Anima," I mumbled, scanning the faces of the townspeople. "And they're not too happy about it."

I finally spotted Reese--he was one of those surprised faces. He saw me watching him and came forward, breaking free of the frozen crowd.

"Now, listen here, Eya," he began sternly. My heart fell, 'cuz I knew he wasn't going to vouch for me, like I'd hoped. "You know this town's hist'ry."

A gang of +Anima had stormed the town a year ago, a little before I came through. They went crazy, setting fire to buildings, terrorizing the people, stealing what they could, even kidnapping some of the children. Everybody had been affected; ergo, everybody hated anything to do with +Anima. To them, we were monsters.

I took a breath. "I know, Mr. Reese, I. . ."

"You know none of us 'round here tolerate your kind."

_Your kind_. Like I was suddenly a different species. Like I was suddenly not a person.

"Reese, I know!" I said, a little louder than I'd intended. I tried to take a step forward. "Please, just let me. . ."

"There's nothin' you can say, kiddo," Reese interrupted, shaking his head. He turned his back. "You lied to everybody and put their lives at risk and you know it. If you don't leave on your own, we'll have to make ya."

I understood the betrayal he must be feeling--Reese's twin sons, Kenny and Kyle, had been dragged from the shop by some type of dog +Anima during the raid. But putting everybody's lives at risk?

"I never hurt anybody, Reese," I said, trying to catch his attention as he tried to disappear back into the crowd. "I just did my job and went home, I never put anybody's life at risk!"

He finally looked back, but his eyes were cold and unyielding.

"You're not welcome here anymore. Leave. _Now_."

I don't really know why, but that part really hurt. When I'd come to town looking for work, he'd been the only one to not slam the door in my face. I don't know how many times he'd told me I was like a daughter to him. Just this morning, he'd trusted me. Now he was telling me to leave, telling me I wasn't welcome anymore.

The other townspeople were turning away now, slowly making an attempt to disperse.

"You people are horrible!"

I jumped and looked back at Husky. He was gripping that weird staff of his tightly and glaring at anybody making eye contact with him. His dark, sapphire eyes were glinting in anger.

"Husky, shut up!" I said, knowing he was going to try to give another _we didn't choose to be this way _lecture. It hadn't worked on that lady inside and it wasn't gonna work on anybody else. "They're not gonna listen to you!"

"You just saved their lives! None of them even said thank you!"

"I don't care! We have to leave, now!" I grabbed his wrist and started pulling him away down the street. Senri, Cooro, and Nana followed. I nervously glanced back at the crowd--most of them had either trickled away or gone back to fighting the fire, but others still were glaring at us like we'd done something wrong.

"Stop pulling me," Husky mumbled, twisting his wrist from my grasp. He kept following me as I led the way down the street, but he was lagging. Still pissed about the reaction we got, I guess. After a while, he just stopped walking.

"You guys keep going," I said to Cooro, Nana, and Senri. "Go to my house and pack up."

Cooro nodded. "Okay. We'll meet you there."

"Husky's really stubborn," Nana warned me. "He's probably still mad about the townspeople."

I nodded. "We'll see you at the house."

Then I turned and went back to Husky, who was staring at the ground, gloved hands tight around the staff.

"Husky, for some reason you've stopped moving," I said, like pointing out something obvious to a three-year-old. "Care to tell me why?"

"Why do they hate us so much?" he muttered. "We didn't do anything wrong."

I let out a breath. "This place was attacked by a gang of +Anima a few years ago. A lot of people still hurt from it. Ergo, they still dislike anything to do with +Anima. Now, I don't think they were joking when they said they'd _make_ us leave. So we should go. Like, now."

But he didn't move, still staring absently at the dirt road

"Now means _now_, Husky," I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along again. "So come _on._ Let's _go_."

"How can you let them treat you that way?" he demanded, sounding mad again. "You've lived here for, I don't know, a year, at least? And you're leaving just because they told you to? That's not right!"

"It doesn't matter," I said shortly. "If I stayed, there'd be no way for me to live. Nobody would give me a job, nobody would sell to me, and eventually they'd find my house and chase me out anyway. It's just not worth staying. So drop it."

He fell quiet again, and I had nothing else to say, so we just left the town and headed up the road to the mansion. We saw Cooro and Nana and Senri up ahead of us but made no real effort to catch up.

"Eya?" Husky said suddenly, when we'd almost made it up the hill to the house. I jumped, jerked from a long and rather random train of thought.

"What?"

"What. . .what are you gonna do?" he asked quietly, almost like he was a little embarrassed to ask. "I mean, since you can't live here anymore. . ."

"Uh. . .I'll just go back to traveling, I guess," I muttered. I'd have to pack, leave some things behind. . .like all those books in the library, all the pens and ink and blank paper in the study, pretty much everything. . .

"I'm sorry we chased you out."

"Wasn't your fault. They were bound to find out anyway."

Third Person POV--Nana

She, Cooro, and Senri entered Eya's house in a quiet, almost melancholy state. They all felt bad about what had happened, but nobody felt like mentioning it.

They went upstairs to their separate rooms, gathering their things. By the time they'd packed up and gotten back to the ground floor, Eya and Husky had caught up, just entering the house. Nana frowned a little when she noticed they were holding hands.

"Are you guys friends now?" Cooro asked, also noticing.

At first, they both looked confused, but then Eya glanced down. Flushing, she quickly let go. Husky let his arm fall rigidly to his side and refused to look in Eya's direction.

"Whatever," Eya mumbled. Shaking her head, she made for the staircase. "You guys should get out of here as fast as you can," she called back. "Somebody from the village might've followed us to make sure we left."

"Why would they do that?" Nana wondered aloud, watching for the wolf +Anima's reaction.

She shrugged, ascending the stairs. "Not everybody down there is. . .oh, well, um, _was_ as nice to me as Reese. Just steer clear if you plan to head that direction."

"What about you?" Cooro said, bounding up to the second floor after Eya. He went down the hall after her, disappearing from sight as the balcony overlooking the front hall ended. "What're you gonna do? Where're you gonna go?"

Third Person POV--Cooro

"I don't really know, Cooro," Eya said absently, entering the room at the end of the hall. Cooro caught a quick glimpse inside--a small bed, lots of books, scribbled-on paper scattered over the floor--before Eya turned back around to face him, blocking the room from view. "Why do you care, anyway?"

Cooro frowned. "It's kinda my fault you have to leave. I wanna make sure you can take care of yourself."

Eya smiled weakly, her bright blue eyes twinkling. "It's not your fault, Cooro. I would've revealed myself anyway, if not today, someday soon. And the same thing would've happened." Then she turned, entering her room and leaving Cooro out in the hall.

After a second, he walked through the doorway. Eya was going over a bookcase, pulling out a few books at random and flipping through them, as if she were trying to decide whether to take them or not.

"Come with us."

Eya jumped a little and looked over her shoulder at him. "Wh-what?"

"Come with us," Cooro repeated, taking a step forward. He smiled in an attempt to rid the wariness from Eya's expression. "We've been trying to find other +Anima, and you're the first one we've met in a while. Since you were living here already, I wasn't gonna ask, but now that we all have to leave. . ." He trailed off, his voice hopeful.

Eya blinked, then looked back to the book in her hands. "I-I dunno, Cooro, I mean. . .I don't know you guys very well, and I'm not sure. . ."

"Please?"

Cooro watched her shoulders rise in a tiny sigh. "Um. . .okay. I guess. As long as Nana, Senri, and, uh, Husky all say it's okay."

Cooro's mood brightened considerably. He'd been feeling guilty before, knowing that if he hadn't spread his wings, this might not've happened. They wouldn't have to leave. But now she was coming with them, so he'd have a chance to make it up to her.

"So you'll come! That's great!"

Eya exhaled, and for a second Cooro thought she muttered something like, "If you say so. . ."


	5. Chapter 5

um, in case you haven't seen my profile (or the _stuff about my stories _part of it), then i should probably mention that in this story, everybody's older. like, five years older or something. making husky and nana fifteen or so, like eya, and cooro's about sixteen, and senri's. . .well, actually, i don't know how old he is. but they're all older. and i'm only mentioning it now because if you thought they were still younger, like ten or eleven, eya's answers about stuff might not've made sense.

but yeah. just so you know. . .

disclaimer: don't own +anima

* * *

Eya POV

"We have to be careful. These woods are crawling with wolves."

I stepped lightly along the tree's trunk, fallen parallel to the path that wandered west of Atley. We'd agreed as a group to stay as far from the town as possible.

Group. I was one of them now. It felt weird, because I'd been on my own for the longest time.

I'd ended up leaving most of everything back in the house. Just some extra clothes, a couple books, some ink and a pen. That's all I carried in my side bag now. Funny how being chased out of your home makes you realize how little you really need.

"Wolves scare me," Nana said, shuddering. Then she blushed, seeming to remember I was a wolf +Anima. "I-I mean. . n-not that I'm scared of _you_, Eya, but. . ."

"It's okay, Nana," I said, jumping to the ground as the tree ended. I glanced back over my shoulder at her and smiled reassuringly. "Lots of people are afraid of wolves."

_People like me. . .once upon a time._

She let out a breath, relieved. "Are we gonna see any?" she asked nervously.

I shrugged. "Probably." At her alarmed expression, I quickly added, "But only in the peripheral! Like, they'll come see what we're doing, but they'll leave us alone, trust me. I haven't been attacked here, we'll be fine."

"Attacked _here_?" Husky echoed.

"Uh. . .I, uh, used to live out west, in the mountains, and a pack of wolves tried to attack me when I was out in the forest. . ." I trailed off, the surge of buried feelings coming dangerously close to surfacing. I shook myself mentally; I couldn't have a breakdown. Not now. Not here.

And besides, the wolves were my friends. They were only rough so I wouldn't lose myself in my grief. They snapped at me and pushed me around and smacked me with their paws to remind me I was still alive.

At least, that's how I see it. That's how they'd acted. Because once I let it go, once I let myself laugh again, they laid off the tough love and turned more playful, like pet dogs. . .

"Oh! Are you a Kim-un-Kur, like Senri?" Cooro asked, yanking me out of my memories. " 'Cuz we went to Moss Mountain once, and we met one of the tribes. . ."

"Uh, no, I'm not," I interrupted. "It was. . .uh, well, I didn't live near anybody, really."

"Have you always lived by yourself?" Nana asked.

I blinked. "No. I've only been on my own for a few years."

"How long's a few?" Husky asked dryly.

"Um. . .five, maybe? Six?"

_Ever since Mom and Dad died. No. . .ever since I left the wolves. But they're not really people. They can't talk or laugh or cry._

"What happened to your parents?" Cooro asked.

Nightmarish images flashed behind my eyes. Images of shadows through the trees, screams over the pounding rain and howls through the roaring thunder.

I shuddered. "They, uh, d-died. A little before I became a +Anima."

Stupid! I hadn't meant to say _that_!

"Did you turn into a +Anima so you wouldn't die with them?" Cooro asked, unashamed. Husky whacked him over the head with his staff and he cowered. "Oww!"

"Maybe she doesn't wanna talk about it, idiot!" Husky snapped. "Leave her alone!"

I glanced up at the sky in an attempt to ignore the mini-argument that ensued. In looking up, I caught sight of the pale gray clouds in the distance. I frowned. It was going to rain again today. I _hated _storms.

I fought back my instinctive fear. Yesterday--was it only yesterday?--I'd come close, but hadn't felt more than a few stray drops of rain. I hadn't really been stuck out in a storm since I first became a +Anima. That horrific day when I lost my parents, my life, my ability to call myself "human."

"Eya, I'm talking to you."

"Huh?"

Husky POV

She blinked, turning to me with a half-blank, half-confused look on her face. "Sorry. What?"

Nana and Cooro had gone on ahead, Senri close behind. I doubted they could hear us, especially with Nana chattering about something or other.

"I was wondering. . .um, well. . ."

I didn't know how to say it. She'd said she used to live in the mountains, but not to have met any Kim-un-Kur would've been unusual. She was lying about something, or maybe just wasn't telling the whole truth.

Maybe I should just leave her alone, like I'd told Cooro.

But then I blurted, "Are you from Sailand?"

I immediately regretted it--the flash of pained surprise, of paralyzing fear in her bright blue eyes was hard to watch. I knew the answer already.

Eya POV

_Are you from Sailand?_

My breath caught in my throat and I froze up. Husky stopped beside me, watching in concern as lifetime of flashbacks flickered through my mind at hyperspeed. . .

_The western mountains of Sailand, where I was born._

_Mist Peak, where I lived with my mother and father. . ._

_. . .where my father went missing, hunting in the thunderstorm. . ._

_. . .where my mother and I went to look for him in the rain. . ._

_. . .where my mother died, crushed by tree that had fallen to lightning. . ._

_. . .where I saw the wolves emerge from their cave just twenty feet away. . ._

_. . .where I became a +Anima, and found the will to survive the storm. . ._

_. . .where I befriended the same wolf pack that witnessed my mother's death. . ._

_. . .where I followed the wolves to where my father had died, fallen in a gorge. . ._

_The base of the mountains, where I left my wolf friends behind._

_The mid-west plains, where I could run and run and never have to stop._

_The eastern foothills, crawling with bandits._

_Market Town, where I was first sold as a slave for 720 gillah._

_Stella, where I was re-sold by my first master to Lady Crystala's caravan, this time for 950 gillah._

_The _Diamond Star_, the ship that carried me to Astaria, where Crystala set me free. . ._

Then I was back in the present, staring blankly into Husky's deep sapphire eyes.

"Uh. . .I, uh. . ." I stumbled over the words, unable to string together anything coherent. "Y-yes, b-but. . ."

"I-it's okay, you don't have to say anything!" Husky said hurriedly, turning a little red. "I'm sorry I asked, it's obviously painful for you to. . ."

"N-no, it's fine," I lied instantly. _Anything _to get him to stop babbling like that. It was almost funny, if the original question hadn't brought up a slew of not-too-pleasant memories.

I took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm from Sailand. I lived in the western mountains until I was nine, when my parents died and I became a +Anima. I don't really wanna talk about it."

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean. . ."

"It's okay. Stop apologizing."

"I'm sorry. . ."

"Stop it or I'll hit _you _with that stupid stick of yours!"


End file.
